On the bookshelf in November

The first book I read was Waking Up in Heaven: A True Story of Brokenness, Heaven, and Life Again by Crystal McVea & Alex Tresniowski. I’ve always been such a sucker for redemption stories & this one was so so sweet because the author, Crystal, got to meet God! Part of why I loved this book is because it honestly felt like hearing a story from a friend. Crystal writes so authentically & really bares her soul for all of us to see. I’m a big believer in God creating scenarios simply to allow us to share our experiences with others. This book is a prime example of that! Crystal has been through a lot in her lifetime & I’m sure there are many people who will be able to relate to her testimony. I’m thankful she has felt God’s calling to be open & share her story — the good, the bad & the ugly. I gave this book four out of five stars.

The second book I read was The Restaurant by Pamela M. Kelley. This is the first book in the super short two-book series called The Nantucket Restaurant. I really enjoyed this book! It was so easy to read & was mostly a feel-good book. It’s about three sisters who inherit a restaurant from their grandma when she passes away that they didn’t even know she owned! The grandma’s will gives them an ultimatum: they have to all come back to Nantucket to run the restaurant together for one year, or give all of their shares to the chef (who just so happens to be one of the girls’ ex-boyfriends). The girls decide to press pause on their lives & take on the restaurant. The sisters’ close relationships & support of one another reminded me a lot of my two sisters, which is probably partially why I liked the book so much. I did feel like it ended pretty quickly, almost like the author got tired of writing & just wrapped up the plots super fast. I gave this book three out of five stars.

The third book I read was the second book in this series, Christmas at the Restaurant by Pamela Kelley. This book mostly focused on some of the other employees from the restaurant the sisters own, however, it was pretty surface-level. It was such a short read & there wasn’t really any depth at all so by the time I was done I was just like “what did I even read?” It definitely had the same feel-good writing as the first book, it just was so short & surface-level that I didn’t love it. I don’t even feel like there’s enough for me to review!! Anyway, I gave this book two out of five stars.

I decided to read another short series while I was home sick over Thanksgiving break. So the fourth book I read was If I Were You by Lynn Austin. Wow. Where to even start my review of this one? This book was about friendship, love, forgiveness, & faith all during World War II. It follows two main characters who are best friends, Audrey Clarkson & Eve Dawson. I typically get all up in my feels when I read stories about the days of WWII & the Holocaust, but this book wrecked me more than others. Maybe because it was written from a woman’s perspective? Maybe because these two women also feel a call to help the world? For whatever reason, I absolutely loved this book. There were so many plot twists that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. I also enjoyed that there were little tidbits of Scripture thrown in. I gave this book five out of five stars.

The fifth book I read was The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin. This is the second & final book in her short series. This book was suuuper short & honestly fairly surface-level compared to the first book. It followed the two main characters, Audrey & Eve, kind of in “the after” of the war. It was simple & cute — the main idea was the two women teaching their sons, Bobby & Harry, about the true meaning of Christmas. I gave this book three out of five stars.

The sixth book I read was The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss. This was such a fun Christmas read! The main character, Kate, is chronically single & decides to sign up for the 12 Dates of Christmas. Participants go on twelve different dates with twelve different people on twelve different dates. In a way, it’s kind of like speed dating. Kate mostly signed up for these dates so that her friends & parents would stop worrying about her love life & she thought, “what could it hurt?” Some of the dates were pretty funny & I felt bad for poor Kate — she couldn’t catch a break! Even though I felt like the ending was pretty predictable from the very beginning, I still really enjoyed this one. I gave this book three out of five stars.

The seventh book I read was Christmas in London by Anita Hughes. I am not a huge fan of books that are based in London — I just feel like the language is very different & I have a hard time getting invested. This book was also super unrealistic, so that was probably part of it too. It followed two different perspectives — Louisa, a baker in New York, & Kate, the producer of a really well known baking TV show. The two’s lives end up intertwining based on their common interests: baking! I gave this book two out of five stars.

Have you ever read the whole Bible? I’ve always wanted to & I’ve tried a few times but it’s hard. It’s just so hard to understand! I had heard several people talk about the Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading & Understanding the Entire Bible & wanted to give it a try. Tara-Leigh Cobble walks you through reading the Bible chronologically in one year & she has a podcast that goes along with it. While that all sounds great, I knew that truly reading it every single day was not attainable for me. Yes, I feel guilty saying that. After all, He has done for me, I should be able to spend that much time each day reading His word. However, I know myself & I know I wouldn’t & I also know that getting behind would stress me out & then I’d want to give up completely. Then she wrote a book & I knew this was the answer! I just read it when I can! I try to make it a priority but if it doesn’t happen that day, it’s okay. It’s not the end of the world. Her summary of what you read is absolutely amazing. I cannot believe how much I’ve learned already!! It’s designed to be read in a year, however if it takes me two, that’s okay! Because reading the entire Bible in two years is better than not at all. If I’m honest, I’ll probably start over once I finish because it’s that good & I’m sure I’ll learn something new each time, because He’s where the joy is!

Add me on the Goodreads app to follow along with my book choices in real time by clicking here. Don’t forget to go to the home page & sign up for emails so you never miss a post!! Also, you can click here to go to my book review page in case you’re interested in checking out some other great reads. If you’ve had a favorite read that you’d recommend, leave it below in the comments & I’ll be sure to check it out!

PS – this post contained affiliate links… thank you so much for reading & supporting our blog!